A garden fork is used similarly to a spade in loosening and turning over soil. Its tines allow it to be pushed more easily into the ground, and it can rake out stones and weeds and break up clods, it is not so easily stopped by stones, and it does not cut through weed roots or root-crops.
This sketch is used in some companies that have customer service training to show how clear and precise communication is needed to prevent misunderstandings.
The original script was famously uncovered on Antiques Roadshow in 2006 and was sold for £48,000 the following year. It was brought to Antiques Roadshow after being found in a bag of rubbish, and was taken to Ronnie Corbett who confirmed its authenticity.
So glad you watched the extended version, that was some excellent advice👍 Shouting at the screen when a reactor stops before the end is no fun, and also futile lol Nice catch on the bill hooks, thank you so much for reacting, I hope you have a great one 😜
The fork in question is a garden fork, or perhaps a pitch fork. Perhaps in other parts of the world it is known as a "spiky shovel" or "rake situation", but in the UK, it's a garden fork. 😅😘
Ronnie Barker was a giant of comedy writing. He took to writing sketches under pseudonyms (Gerald Wiley) as he was worried that people were telling him it was good because he wrote it. David Jason called him the 'guvnor' because he learnt so much from him doing Open All Hours, so you could say that without Ronnie, there would never have been Derek Trotter.
i can still remember having a small local hardware/genral store like this at the top of my street when i was a kid back in the early 70's in the U.K. and the Fork handle is for a garden fork which is used for breaking up sticky soil/dirt.
We had hardware stores that sold everything like that as we were bombed during WW2. So villages would have stores that sold pretty much everything. They lasted right up until the late 80s and early 90s. My little village that I grew up in they turned an old chapel into a shop like this and it had a doctor's surgery out the back. Lol
These kinds of general hardware shops would stock a lot of things, they weren't necessarily a specialist hardware store for businesses/builders to go to. They just had everything a household might need. It does look a little strange today, they don't really exist anymore like this.
A Billhook similar to a small machete used mainly for working with Hazel wood or Ash wood but mainly for hedge laying, the design of the blade varies from County to County.
"Spiky shovel" must be the best Mandyism yet ! 😀 ... it's probably one of the best loved British comedy sketches of all time, the alternative ending would have been perfect ... most things have been covered in your comments ... glad you enjoyed it .
We generally use a large fork about the size of a shovel for what we call turning the earth over - and that just generally consists of plunging the fork deep into the soil in the garden and simply lifting it and turning it over so that you are loosening the soil after the winter months and while doing this you will generally remove any weeds or large stones.
This has gone down in comic history, four candles is the most famous sketch that that did. There were those types of shops years ago, absolute aladdins caves ?, sold everything.
A billhook is a small handtool with a blade that has a tip like a squared-off parrot beak. At least, that's what i remember it as. I used to have such an implement that stayed with the family for decades. It belonged to my great grandfather who was a head gardener to a rectory.
@@MandyCaneLane Yes. Relatively small branches, twigs, bushes, etc. the one i have is around the size of a hammer. If Ronnie B's character worked for a builder as it seems - He may have been a general odd-job man employed to do unspecialized work on site - that may have been one of his tasks, site clearance, hence some of the items he was buying. He was very possibly autistic as well, probably Level Two, as indicated by his slight difficulty with communicating exactly what he wants and so the build up of mutual frustration between him and the counter salesman. I am autistic myself. Ronnie B's character seems to have more difficulties than I would have - being Level One - Asperger's Syndrome.
In Medieval Times it was also one of the implements used to work the land, that was put to use to arm the peasant infantry. Later more professional troops were referred to as Billmen to defend against cavalry..
At the end of my gran's's street, there used to be a shop just like this, - one which sells a little bit of almost anything. The owner even wore a brown coat and flat hat. Shops like this have pretty much died out now though.
It's a garden/pitch fork And it's an old fashioned general store where they sell you everything from hammer & nails to tins of beans to even lipstick & pantyhose.
There were shops like that in every town in the UK, they stocked everything. It was like walking into Aladdins cave, absolutely loved them to the point that if I see one now I have to call in.
Great one. This is the Two Ronnies most iconic sketch and voted as Britains favourite. The fork handle is for a garden fork that might be used to dig up a garden. When he asked for plugs, Ronnie Corbett got bathroom plugs for the sink and asked Ronnie Barker "What size", to which he replied "13 amp" in reference to the fuse inside an electric plug. The bit with the hoes/hose/O's and the P's/Peas is just a moment of genius. With Robbie C constantly going up and down the ladder :) Also back in the day there were General Stores like this that sold so many different things. Ronnie Corbett's reactions and facial expressions, as the annoyed hardware shop owner, really makes this sketch. Yes the Mastermind sketch is just amazing. The Blackberry one is Ronnie Corbett on his own as Ronnie Barker had passed away by then. Another fun reaction. Almost 11k already ! Nice.
The extra bit is important as the ending of this sketch was the weakest joke and the alternative would have been better. It was from a (lot) later show which had them looking back at some of their best sketches. Sadly Ronnie Barker, the larger chap died shortly after the later shows aired. Ronnie Corbett has now passed as well but they are rightly considered comic geniuses in the UK and this sketch is generally acknowledged as their best (although that is subjective).
Even as someone who grew up in the UK, because my family's Spanish it took me years really get this sketch fully. Just little things like how a 'pointy shovel' as you put it is called a 'fork', or 'foot pumps' being a old/ colloquial term for shoes are things that you don't pick up as an immigrant but English people have older generations that do know and use the words. Even the 'bill hooks' I would just read in my proper queen's English (i.e. not dropping the 'h') and thought 'i don't know what bill hooks are or what other thing could be mistaken for them" Their masterimind one is v clever and funny too but does rely on some of this old cultural knowledge (like that Singer is the name of an old British car manufacturer and old British busses were made by British Leyland) There's also an updated version of this sketch with the short guy and Harry Enfield called 'frozen blackberry'. You get all of their play on words as they're from the 2000s. The only reference you need for that sketch is that we have a mobile phone service provider called 'Orange' 👍 th-cam.com/video/kAG39jKi0lI/w-d-xo.html Also, corner shops were like that here in the UK up until the 70s or 80s Even in the 90s when I was a kid we didn't really have these branded 'mini-marts' and our local grocery shop sold tights, bike repair kits, tools/screws, cloth and sewing accessories, and did shoe repairs!
Eh, Mandy...Google Translate 🙂 I love these wordplay sketches, always surprising and it keeps you guessing. In the Netherlands one of our biggest comedians copied a lot of that for Dutch television, however the English language with its massive amounts of possible double entendres fits perfectly for this kind of comedy
Mandy, a garden fork is what giants use to eat their salads before the main course. It sits just to the left of the welding spoon, that is, if we are using traditional table manners, otherwise it sits to the right for a "no-holds barred" meal.
Times are different now. We had stupid Sunday's where every major store was closed. So small general stores sold all sorts of stuff people might need. I believe there was also food items that you couldn't buy on a Sunday. You could buy fresh milk, but not fresh eggs.
Where I live is like that. It is impossible to buy anything on Sundays. Most shops are closed, god foribid you forgot to buy a key ingredient for lunch the day before 🙄😅
@@MandyCaneLane My favourite one was that fish and chips shops could open, but weren't allowed to sell fish and chips. The Chinese shop could sell fish and chips though.
I'm glad you brought this up because I was going to mention it too. back in the day, especially in more rural towns or villages there were stores that literally did everything. they were often a Pub, post office, hardware and grocery store, some even had petrol pumps. quite literally a One stop shop.
@@michaeldolan9980 You might know this as I am trying to find out. Early 70's I remember getting sent to the shop, now I can't remember if it was a Sunday or a Christian thing like christmas/easter etc. But the shopkeeper said he couldn't sell it because of the rules. I can't find it anywhere.
The "can I get the thingy" is often done in book shops/libraries as well where the customer can only remember what the cover looks like and/or what the book was about, vaguely. Mostly in well staffed bookstore/library they will get it on the third try. That way you got two more possibly new, books to try as well.
We had a shop just like this just across the road from where we lived as kids in the 1950’/60’s … Rather than being called a Hardware Store … it was called the Ironmongers ….. they sold just about everything you thought you might need for jobs around the house and then more …. It was called Mack’s Ironmongers As kids we used to ask Mr.Mack for any large cardboard boxes that he didn’t want so that we could make cardboard castles and forts …. We also had a Chippy , Dry Cleaners,Butchers,Greengrocer,Haberdashery Shop,Bakery/Cake Shop ,Off License,Grocery Store,Sweet Shop, And a Newsagents … this was of course before the Supermarkets arrived in the U.K. and destroyed all the small family owned businesses….. I remember that Mr.Mack at the Ironmongers always wore a Brown Wearhouse Coat just like the one in the sketch …..
These days electrical appliances are supplied with a moulded on electric plug. Years ago, electric plugs came with different current ratings. There were basically two types. 13amp current rating and 5 amp current rating. However loose fuses were available to buy if you wanted a soecific current rating.
So glad you enjoyed it. They did a similar sketch a few years later with the roles reversed. Ronnie B played a grocery shopkeeper and Ronnie C played an Arab Sheikh who couldn't pronounce the items correctly. I hope you find time to watch it.
Billhook is a spiked piece of metal with a T handle at the blunt end, the pointy end is bent over so you can stab it into bales of cotton to lift it (Think J shape) used by dockers to unload ships as seen in films e.g. ( 007 fight on the docks )
Nah! That's a dockers' 'ook! A billhook is, as many have mentioned, something like a short, curved machete, with a longish handle. I was once tasked with clearing a steep, bramble-covered hillside using only a billhook. Took me 5 days 🥵
Loved this! One of the best comedy sketches of all time it never gets old! Great reaction Mandy! As always a pleasure to watch your videos! I hope you're doing well and having a good day! :)
@@MandyCaneLane You're welcome Mandy! I appreciate the work you put into your channel and the content you make for us! Thank you I have work tonight so it will be anything but fabulous! Lol! :)
@@alfiefletcher7513 no it wasn't a good reaction the lass was trying her best, I was rooting for her, she couldn't even understand what wee Ron was mumbling to himself the best genuine reaction was at the end alternative knockers classic, I got the impression that she was not from the utd state's but from south America, which I'm guessing will be harder to follow British style humour.
I'm new to your channel, this sketch is part of British life, ask a random British person "four candles" they will laugh and reply "handles for forks" The sketch as gone down in history.
Back in the seventies, there were no safety regulations concerning 240 volt AC outlets in UK bathrooms. 240 volts AC and water don't mix. In those days, you could buy 13 amp rubber-covered mains plugs, even though the rubber just provided the illusion of safety.
The shop is called an ironmonger, very rare now with how you can just get everything with a click. They sold everything you can think of and if he did not have he will order it for you.
"It's not the quality of the image, it's the quality of the sketch." Good one Mandy. I like these shop skits. Also, one thing about hardware store where I am that I thought funny is that there's one shopping center that has two hardware stores basically right next to each other. That's like having a Little Caesars delivery driver in a Pizza Hut. How is either supposed to stay in business when they're competing and right next to each other? But they seem to both be doing fine. I thought that was funny.
Yeah, they do that a lot in Argentina for some reason. Especially with candy shops or ice cream shops. They are usually one in front of the other 🤷🏻♀️
Hardware stores were ironmongers here in the UK. You could buy almost anything and if they had there own forge custom orders... There were also general stores that stock just about everything. Unfortunately, with the birth of superstores the local ironmongers, local general store, even local shops all shutdown.
Mandy - ignore everyone on here trying to fool you with all that gardening talk. You were quite right. That was a replacement fork handle for greedy people.
In case nobody has mentioned it, a bill hook is like a large knife with a bit of a curve to it. Often used 'for cutting woody material such as shrubs, small trees and branches' (Wikipedia).
Regarding the pantyhose thing, back then is wasn’t uncommon to have “general” stores which sold almost anything, including hardware. What I find odder is the fact that they refer to it as “pantyhose” at all, which is very much an American term. On this side of the pond we call them tights. Of course it was just done for the purposes of comedy. As for the fork handles, a fork is basically another garden tool, similar in size and shape to a shovel. Instead of a shovel head, the head attachment on a fork, as the name suggests, is a fork. A garden fork can have 2,3 or 4 prongs. When he asked about the size of the plug, the customer replied “13 amp”, which confirmed he was looking for an electrical water proof plug, as opposed to a bath/sink plug Oh, and ignore the haters. They all seem to think that everyone should know everything about everything. Pretty sure I could baffle them with some choice words of my own 😂
A Gardening Fork. In America a Bill Hook is called a fascine knife. You have to know about Gardening to get the jokes. It's different things which sound the same but are spelled differently. . Similar to the name I have for my wallet, I call it empty. That way if someone asks if I could change £10 to two Fives, I can say, sorry my wallet's empty.
British wordplay can be a wonderful thing to those who understand it... But for non natives it can leave you scratching your head looking all confused... A Fork Handle is simply the wooden handle of a metal garden fork... A garden fork is used by gardeners who need to remove vegetables plants and roots from the soil (like potatoes)... Similarly with a hoe... It's another gardening tool used for weeding or chopping up larger areas of soil... And a Bill Hook is simply a curved bladed gardening tool used for cutting and trimming hedges... A foot pump is simply a device for inflating the tyres on a motor vehicle or bicycle... A flexible inflation tube is clamped onto the tyres valve... Then to inflate the tyre... A spring loaded foot pad is repeatedly stepped on... Causing the manually operated hydraulic foot pump to force compressed air through to inflate the tyre... These kinds of General Hardware Stores were literally lifeline hubs for the local community... So that they could purchase everyday items such as... Food & Drink... Newspapers & Magazines... Sweets & Chocolates... Gardening Products... Household Repair Products... Laundry Products... Matches & Tobacco Products... Household Replacement Products Such As... (Light Bulbs... Electrical Plugs & Fuses... Dustpans & Brushes... Mops & Brooms... Vacuum Cleaner Bags & Drive Belts etc.)... They literally sold everything that the community might want or need... Many of these more obscure products listed above... Are now readily available in many of the larger supermarkets here in the UK... It's just a sign of the times i'm afraid... The vast majority of this style of old time General Hardware Stores... Are sadly dying out these days... There are some that are still hanging on in there... But unfortunately they're fighting a losing battle against their more modern competitors that are now out there... 😢 Many thanks for posting the video Mandy... 👍 All the best... Cheers.🍺
Village General store in the 70s would sell wide range of goods limited options on each as brands were not as wide ranging as today but as you had no home delivery and less folk had cars they stocked most things people need day to day and other in season items.
back in the 50s/60s and even the 70s(and earlier) every small town had at least one small general store that sold pretty much anything and everything kinda like a modern day Supermarket(walmart) there are some that are still around today
I think it’s a really overrated sketch. The initial ‘four candles’ joke, (no spoilers!), is one of the best jokes ever contained in a sketch, but the rest of the sketch goes downhill very quickly. Once you realise that he’s asking for different items to what the shopkeeper expects, it’s not as funny, without the initial surprise and amazing twist of four candles/f**k h*****s. The initial joke is all that’s needed, you may as well stop watching there.
@@andrewmay1299 Andrew, My favourite sketch that I remember was the Morecambe and Wise 'The kitchen routine' scene. These two shows were brilliant IMO growing up(due to my grandma taping the them) & watched on weekend. So......... In my opinion that was top or near! What is up there for you mate? 🙏🍺
The shop is called a haberdashery and they sell a bit ov everything. The german comedian Henning Wehn once said "With a name like that you think it would sell something really specific, but no it's just bits and bobs"
Love watching your reactions to British comedy. A lot of fun to see someone being introduced and enjoying a lot of the humour I grew up with and love. Have a look at Blackadder when you have the chance, or, ever better, Father Ted
The is the perfect example and a master class in staging. Ronnie C building frustration at Ronnie B. Alway fun to watch and more so along with your reactions
2:00 "That's a very big fork!" ha ha hahaha I also didn't understand the words for the first few items lol. I love the randomness of stock in these small shops. I have a shop sort of like this near my area called "Spots". But nowhere near as vintage as the one in this video :)
There is a good one where R. Barker does the weather forecast, and their invented news items were funny. (I wonder if they were actually good friends, though?)
This sketch is an all time classic that cracks me up every time I watch it, even though I know what is coming next. I do wish that they had gone with the alternative ending. If it wasn't for the fact that the US and UK are two countries divided by a common language, I think you would have enjoyed the sketch a lot more. You should check out the "crossed lines" sketch from The Two Ronnies.
Amps (or amperes) are a measure of current. 13 amp is the rating for the fuse found in a standard of british plugs (I guess americans don't have fused plugs so don't encounter the word commonly or something).
My dad loved the old Hardware shops,he knew my mum would go to another shop and leave him to it, as I got older I realized he just wanted some peace and quiet 😂
Before you watch the blackberry sketch it was done after Ronnie Barker (the bigger one.) died. Also one of the mobile phone service providers in the UK. Was called Orange. Just a heads up.
A garden fork is used similarly to a spade in loosening and turning over soil. Its tines allow it to be pushed more easily into the ground, and it can rake out stones and weeds and break up clods, it is not so easily stopped by stones, and it does not cut through weed roots or root-crops.
Thank you, but you are just proving it is a spikey shovel 🤪😂
@@MandyCaneLane True, but, by the very same token, a kitchen fork is merely a spikey knife. 🍽😎
@@patrickquinlan67 nah, knives are webbed forks
@@patrickquinlan67 Au contraire Patrick! A knife is already spikey, so a fork is merely a spikey spoon 🤪😂
@@MandyCaneLane That's quite offensive to spoons. 😜
This sketch is arguably the most famous sketch in British comedy history.
Alongside the Dead Parrot sketch.
They did a sequel that was even funnier. I think it was called 5 candles
The handle of a spade, shovel & garden fork are the same.
This sketch is used in some companies that have customer service training to show how clear and precise communication is needed to prevent misunderstandings.
😂😂
The original script was famously uncovered on Antiques Roadshow in 2006 and was sold for £48,000 the following year. It was brought to Antiques Roadshow after being found in a bag of rubbish, and was taken to Ronnie Corbett who confirmed its authenticity.
This is what my grandmother used to call 'habberdasheries'. They sold something of everything, back before supermarkets became common.
I thought haberdashery was accessories for sewing, like zips, buttons etc.
@@AnneDowson-vp8lg They were. Like I said, it was for everything.
@@AnneDowson-vp8lg I still call the 'sewing and accessories' section in a supermarket, the haberdashery section.
Yep we used to have shops that sold everything. Little corner stores that you knew you could get a left handed wotsit or a two handed dodad.
🤣🤣
I live in a tiny village that still does.
In George Street in Oxford, UK, there is actually a pub called “The Four Candles”; it is named after this sketch.
Bill Hooks were what you pierced your receipts (Bills) onto once you had completed your home accounts.
Finally, someone explaining what Bill Hooks were or are! Thanks!!
It's a general store rather than a hardware store.
Looks exaclty like most hardware stores here. 🤪
So glad you watched the extended version, that was some excellent advice👍 Shouting at the screen when a reactor stops before the end is no fun, and also futile lol Nice catch on the bill hooks, thank you so much for reacting, I hope you have a great one 😜
I was well informed! 🤪 Glad you enjoyed Morgan! 🤗
The fork in question is a garden fork, or perhaps a pitch fork. Perhaps in other parts of the world it is known as a "spiky shovel" or "rake situation", but in the UK, it's a garden fork. 😅😘
😂😂
Don't confuse her she already thought it was some kind of rake, you would not rake leaves with a fork but you would with a proper garden rake.
Ronnie Barker was a giant of comedy writing. He took to writing sketches under pseudonyms (Gerald Wiley) as he was worried that people were telling him it was good because he wrote it. David Jason called him the 'guvnor' because he learnt so much from him doing Open All Hours, so you could say that without Ronnie, there would never have been Derek Trotter.
The fork he is talking about is a gardening fork. Used for digging up the garden. Usually four pronged.
sort of like a pitchFORK
Bless your heart. Couple of legends there, glad you saw it until the end 😘
Thank you Steve! 🤗
i can still remember having a small local hardware/genral store like this at the top of my street when i was a kid back in the early 70's in the U.K. and the Fork handle is for a garden fork which is used for breaking up sticky soil/dirt.
There are many good Two Ronnies sketches on YT.
A classic!! "A spiky shovel" 🤣🤣 Well I can't say your wrong! You do make me chuckle 😆
🤗🤪
The best & most popular Two Ronnies' sketch.
I think Mastermind just shades it though.
We had hardware stores that sold everything like that as we were bombed during WW2. So villages would have stores that sold pretty much everything. They lasted right up until the late 80s and early 90s. My little village that I grew up in they turned an old chapel into a shop like this and it had a doctor's surgery out the back. Lol
These kinds of general hardware shops would stock a lot of things, they weren't necessarily a specialist hardware store for businesses/builders to go to. They just had everything a household might need. It does look a little strange today, they don't really exist anymore like this.
Barnitts in York is still like this.
A Billhook similar to a small machete used mainly for working with Hazel wood or Ash wood but mainly for hedge laying, the design of the blade varies from County to County.
Thank you 🤗
@@MandyCaneLane As Ronnie B said, a bit too obscure
I was told it was those spikes that used to be for sticking merchant receipts on.
But why is it supposed to be funny in the sketch?
@@winterbas8927 Billhooks > Bill'oks > Billocks > B*****ks. Still, as the guv'nor mentioned, it was too obscure for a good punchline.
"Spiky shovel" must be the best Mandyism yet ! 😀 ... it's probably one of the best loved British comedy sketches of all time, the alternative ending would have been perfect ... most things have been covered in your comments ... glad you enjoyed it .
We generally use a large fork about the size of a shovel for what we call turning the earth over - and that just generally consists of plunging the fork deep into the soil in the garden and simply lifting it and turning it over so that you are loosening the soil after the winter months and while doing this you will generally remove any weeds or large stones.
These are also great to see how shops where back in the past, you could get most things in the corner shop back then
This has gone down in comic history, four candles is the most famous sketch that that did. There were those types of shops years ago, absolute aladdins caves ?, sold everything.
A billhook is a small handtool with a blade that has a tip like a squared-off parrot beak. At least, that's what i remember it as. I used to have such an implement that stayed with the family for decades. It belonged to my great grandfather who was a head gardener to a rectory.
For cutting branches?
@@MandyCaneLane Traditionally it would have been used for hedge laying but can be used for clearing brash/undergrowth.
@@MandyCaneLane Yes. Relatively small branches, twigs, bushes, etc. the one i have is around the size of a hammer. If Ronnie B's character worked for a builder as it seems - He may have been a general odd-job man employed to do unspecialized work on site - that may have been one of his tasks, site clearance, hence some of the items he was buying. He was very possibly autistic as well, probably Level Two, as indicated by his slight difficulty with communicating exactly what he wants and so the build up of mutual frustration between him and the counter salesman. I am autistic myself. Ronnie B's character seems to have more difficulties than I would have - being Level One - Asperger's Syndrome.
@@Womberto Yes. Hedge laying. Ha. Brain dysfunction. I'm getting old. I knew it, but could quite find it.
In Medieval Times it was also one of the implements used to work the land, that was put to use to arm the peasant infantry. Later more professional troops were referred to as Billmen to defend against cavalry..
At the end of my gran's's street, there used to be a shop just like this, - one which sells a little bit of almost anything. The owner even wore a brown coat and flat hat. Shops like this have pretty much died out now though.
It's a garden/pitch fork
And it's an old fashioned general store where they sell you everything from hammer & nails to tins of beans to even lipstick & pantyhose.
an oldie but goodie - even after all these years. yes - the mastermind sketch is worth seeing.
They used to have these stores that were like a hardware store but also general items. Or sold alcohol and groceries all in the same place
A 'Handy' store -- they were often called
@@annother3350 yes ann
The Two Legends
Ronnie Corbett is on Would i lie to you in relation to that sketch! So worth a watch!!!
😮
There were shops like that in every town in the UK, they stocked everything. It was like walking into Aladdins cave, absolutely loved them to the point that if I see one now I have to call in.
Great one. This is the Two Ronnies most iconic sketch and voted as Britains favourite.
The fork handle is for a garden fork that might be used to dig up a garden.
When he asked for plugs, Ronnie Corbett got bathroom plugs for the sink and asked Ronnie Barker "What size", to which he replied "13 amp" in reference to the fuse inside an electric plug.
The bit with the hoes/hose/O's and the P's/Peas is just a moment of genius. With Robbie C constantly going up and down the ladder :)
Also back in the day there were General Stores like this that sold so many different things.
Ronnie Corbett's reactions and facial expressions, as the annoyed hardware shop owner, really makes this sketch.
Yes the Mastermind sketch is just amazing. The Blackberry one is Ronnie Corbett on his own as Ronnie Barker had passed away by then.
Another fun reaction. Almost 11k already ! Nice.
Thank you Rusty Dog!! 🤗🤗
Yeah P`s tin of garden peas, classic, I'd prefer the new alternative ending.
The extra bit is important as the ending of this sketch was the weakest joke and the alternative would have been better. It was from a (lot) later show which had them looking back at some of their best sketches. Sadly Ronnie Barker, the larger chap died shortly after the later shows aired. Ronnie Corbett has now passed as well but they are rightly considered comic geniuses in the UK and this sketch is generally acknowledged as their best (although that is subjective).
Even as someone who grew up in the UK, because my family's Spanish it took me years really get this sketch fully.
Just little things like how a 'pointy shovel' as you put it is called a 'fork', or 'foot pumps' being a old/ colloquial term for shoes are things that you don't pick up as an immigrant but English people have older generations that do know and use the words. Even the 'bill hooks' I would just read in my proper queen's English (i.e. not dropping the 'h') and thought 'i don't know what bill hooks are or what other thing could be mistaken for them"
Their masterimind one is v clever and funny too but does rely on some of this old cultural knowledge (like that Singer is the name of an old British car manufacturer and old British busses were made by British Leyland)
There's also an updated version of this sketch with the short guy and Harry Enfield called 'frozen blackberry'. You get all of their play on words as they're from the 2000s. The only reference you need for that sketch is that we have a mobile phone service provider called 'Orange' 👍
th-cam.com/video/kAG39jKi0lI/w-d-xo.html
Also, corner shops were like that here in the UK up until the 70s or 80s
Even in the 90s when I was a kid we didn't really have these branded 'mini-marts' and our local grocery shop sold tights, bike repair kits, tools/screws, cloth and sewing accessories, and did shoe repairs!
Eh, Mandy...Google Translate 🙂 I love these wordplay sketches, always surprising and it keeps you guessing. In the Netherlands one of our biggest comedians copied a lot of that for Dutch television, however the English language with its massive amounts of possible double entendres fits perfectly for this kind of comedy
Mandy, a garden fork is what giants use to eat their salads before the main course. It sits just to the left of the welding spoon, that is, if we are using traditional table manners, otherwise it sits to the right for a "no-holds barred" meal.
😂🤭
Morecambe and Wise were another comic duo worth looking at
Times are different now. We had stupid Sunday's where every major store was closed. So small general stores sold all sorts of stuff people might need.
I believe there was also food items that you couldn't buy on a Sunday. You could buy fresh milk, but not fresh eggs.
Where I live is like that. It is impossible to buy anything on Sundays. Most shops are closed, god foribid you forgot to buy a key ingredient for lunch the day before 🙄😅
@@MandyCaneLane My favourite one was that fish and chips shops could open, but weren't allowed to sell fish and chips. The Chinese shop could sell fish and chips though.
I'm glad you brought this up because I was going to mention it too. back in the day, especially in more rural towns or villages there were stores that literally did everything. they were often a Pub, post office, hardware and grocery store, some even had petrol pumps. quite literally a One stop shop.
@@michaeldolan9980 You might know this as I am trying to find out.
Early 70's I remember getting sent to the shop, now I can't remember if it was a Sunday or a Christian thing like christmas/easter etc.
But the shopkeeper said he couldn't sell it because of the rules.
I can't find it anywhere.
i think i have watched that a hundred times and still find it very funny ,i remember those shops they sold every thing
The "can I get the thingy" is often done in book shops/libraries as well where the customer can only remember what the cover looks like and/or what the book was about, vaguely.
Mostly in well staffed bookstore/library they will get it on the third try.
That way you got two more possibly new, books to try as well.
4:55...Back in the 1970s (and before) when I was young (😞) small hardware stores/cornershops would literally sell almost anything
Garden fork - same handle as a shovel
Just about everyone in the UK will know what you mean if you say " four candles " . A TOTAL CLASSIC 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
As somebody who has worked retail for a long time, this sketch has resonated with so many coworkers over the years.
Also, yeah, until I saw that pitchfork handle I was thinking the same thing about tableware.
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We had a shop just like this just across the road from where we lived as kids in the 1950’/60’s …
Rather than being called a Hardware Store … it was called the Ironmongers ….. they sold just about everything you thought you might need for jobs around the house and then more …. It was called Mack’s Ironmongers
As kids we used to ask Mr.Mack for any large cardboard boxes that he didn’t want so that we could make cardboard castles and forts …. We also had a Chippy , Dry Cleaners,Butchers,Greengrocer,Haberdashery Shop,Bakery/Cake Shop ,Off License,Grocery Store,Sweet Shop, And a Newsagents … this was of course before the Supermarkets arrived in the U.K. and destroyed all the small family owned businesses…..
I remember that Mr.Mack at the Ironmongers always wore a Brown Wearhouse Coat just like the one in the sketch …..
This is my fav comedy sketch of all time .
One stop shops were normal before supermarkets arrived .
a bill hook is a hooked bladed cutting tool for pruning- used a bit like a machete. Back in the day there used to be stores like this all over.
These days electrical appliances are supplied with a moulded on electric plug.
Years ago, electric plugs came with different current ratings. There were basically two types. 13amp current rating and 5 amp current rating. However loose fuses were available to buy if you wanted a soecific current rating.
Thank you for explaining John! 🤗
So glad you enjoyed it. They did a similar sketch a few years later with the roles reversed. Ronnie B played a grocery shopkeeper and Ronnie C played an Arab Sheikh who couldn't pronounce the items correctly. I hope you find time to watch it.
Billhook is a spiked piece of metal with a T handle at the blunt end, the pointy end is bent over so you can stab it into bales of cotton to lift it (Think J shape) used by dockers to unload ships as seen in films e.g. ( 007 fight on the docks )
Ohhh! Gotcha! Thank you! 🤗🤗
Nah! That's a dockers' 'ook!
A billhook is, as many have mentioned, something like a short, curved machete, with a longish handle. I was once tasked with clearing a steep, bramble-covered hillside using only a billhook. Took me 5 days 🥵
Im not overly versed in the two ronnies, but I know this one and the Mastermind one are too of their most well known ones
Loved this! One of the best comedy sketches of all time it never gets old! Great reaction Mandy! As always a pleasure to watch your videos! I hope you're doing well and having a good day! :)
Thank you Alfie! I do what I can! 🤪 Hope you have a fabulous day as well 🤗
@@MandyCaneLane You're welcome Mandy! I appreciate the work you put into your channel and the content you make for us! Thank you I have work tonight so it will be anything but fabulous! Lol! :)
@@alfiefletcher7513 no it wasn't a good reaction the lass was trying her best, I was rooting for her, she couldn't even understand what wee Ron was mumbling to himself the best genuine reaction was at the end alternative knockers classic, I got the impression that she was not from the utd state's but from south America, which I'm guessing will be harder to follow British style humour.
They were so wonderful. I think I may have said that before.
I'm new to your channel, this sketch is part of British life, ask a random British person "four candles" they will laugh and reply "handles for forks" The sketch as gone down in history.
Welcome to the channel! And I love that 🤗🤪
Garden forks.
Funny brilliant well done
The Blackberry sketch was much later after Ronnie Barker died.
I had never heard about the alternative ending before.
There were shops like that which sold everything years ago.
Back in the seventies, there were no safety regulations concerning 240 volt AC outlets in UK bathrooms. 240 volts AC and water don't mix. In those days, you could buy 13 amp rubber-covered mains plugs, even though the rubber just provided the illusion of safety.
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@@MandyCaneLane ⚡🤣
I remember when the Local Hardware was the General Store as well, some even had a Barber ab=nd Shoe Repair Guy in the Corner as well.
Used to be my day job sorting out people like this. It's a skill, but teaches a lot! 😅
The shop is called an ironmonger, very rare now with how you can just get everything with a click. They sold everything you can think of and if he did not have he will order it for you.
"It's not the quality of the image, it's the quality of the sketch." Good one Mandy.
I like these shop skits.
Also, one thing about hardware store where I am that I thought funny is that there's one shopping center that has two hardware stores basically right next to each other. That's like having a Little Caesars delivery driver in a Pizza Hut. How is either supposed to stay in business when they're competing and right next to each other? But they seem to both be doing fine. I thought that was funny.
Yeah, they do that a lot in Argentina for some reason. Especially with candy shops or ice cream shops. They are usually one in front of the other 🤷🏻♀️
Hardware stores were ironmongers here in the UK. You could buy almost anything and if they had there own forge custom orders...
There were also general stores that stock just about everything. Unfortunately, with the birth of superstores the local ironmongers, local general store, even local shops all shutdown.
Mandy - ignore everyone on here trying to fool you with all that gardening talk. You were quite right. That was a replacement fork handle for greedy people.
I thought so 😎
In case nobody has mentioned it, a bill hook is like a large knife with a bit of a curve to it. Often used 'for cutting woody material such as shrubs, small trees and branches' (Wikipedia).
Thank you Malcolm 🤗
That last part is over twenty years later, shows how well-known the sketch was.
Yes Yes Yes , brilliant, glad youreacted to this, cheers
Thank you Joseph! 🤗🤗
It's not a shovel (or a spade) or a rake, it's a fork, for gardening.
13 amp is the size of the fuse in the plug.
A garden fork can also be described as a spikey shovel 😂🤪
Regarding the pantyhose thing, back then is wasn’t uncommon to have “general” stores which sold almost anything, including hardware. What I find odder is the fact that they refer to it as “pantyhose” at all, which is very much an American term. On this side of the pond we call them tights. Of course it was just done for the purposes of comedy.
As for the fork handles, a fork is basically another garden tool, similar in size and shape to a shovel. Instead of a shovel head, the head attachment on a fork, as the name suggests, is a fork. A garden fork can have 2,3 or 4 prongs.
When he asked about the size of the plug, the customer replied “13 amp”, which confirmed he was looking for an electrical water proof plug, as opposed to a bath/sink plug
Oh, and ignore the haters. They all seem to think that everyone should know everything about everything. Pretty sure I could baffle them with some choice words of my own 😂
Thank you Musefan! 🤗 I was spot on with the spikey shovel then 🤪
@@MandyCaneLane “spiky shovel” is the best damn description of a pitchfork that I’ve ever seen mate 😂
A Gardening Fork. In America a Bill Hook is called a fascine knife. You have to know about Gardening to get the jokes. It's different things which sound the same but are spelled differently. . Similar to the name I have for my wallet, I call it empty. That way if someone asks if I could change £10 to two Fives, I can say, sorry my wallet's empty.
British wordplay can be a wonderful thing to those who understand it... But for non natives it can leave you scratching your head looking all confused... A Fork Handle is simply the wooden handle of a metal garden fork... A garden fork is used by gardeners who need to remove vegetables plants and roots from the soil (like potatoes)... Similarly with a hoe... It's another gardening tool used for weeding or chopping up larger areas of soil... And a Bill Hook is simply a curved bladed gardening tool used for cutting and trimming hedges... A foot pump is simply a device for inflating the tyres on a motor vehicle or bicycle... A flexible inflation tube is clamped onto the tyres valve... Then to inflate the tyre... A spring loaded foot pad is repeatedly stepped on... Causing the manually operated hydraulic foot pump to force compressed air through to inflate the tyre...
These kinds of General Hardware Stores were literally lifeline hubs for the local community... So that they could purchase everyday items such as... Food & Drink... Newspapers & Magazines... Sweets & Chocolates... Gardening Products... Household Repair Products... Laundry Products... Matches & Tobacco Products... Household Replacement Products Such As... (Light Bulbs... Electrical Plugs & Fuses... Dustpans & Brushes... Mops & Brooms... Vacuum Cleaner Bags & Drive Belts etc.)... They literally sold everything that the community might want or need... Many of these more obscure products listed above... Are now readily available in many of the larger supermarkets here in the UK... It's just a sign of the times i'm afraid... The vast majority of this style of old time General Hardware Stores... Are sadly dying out these days... There are some that are still hanging on in there... But unfortunately they're fighting a losing battle against their more modern competitors that are now out there... 😢 Many thanks for posting the video Mandy... 👍 All the best... Cheers.🍺
Thank you for explaining everything Rick! 🤗🤗🤗
@@MandyCaneLane No worries Mandy. 👍
a billhook is a tool having a sickle-shaped blade with a sharp inner edge, used for pruning or lopping branches or other vegetation.
Thank you Jason 🤗
Not as curved as a sickle.
Village General store in the 70s would sell wide range of goods limited options on each as brands were not as wide ranging as today but as you had no home delivery and less folk had cars they stocked most things people need day to day and other in season items.
back in the 50s/60s and even the 70s(and earlier) every small town
had at least one small general store that sold pretty much anything and everything kinda like a modern day Supermarket(walmart) there are some that are still around today
I am amazed you understand british humour so easily.You are one clever cookie.Fact! xxx
Lol 🤪
One of the best sketches in history IMO! Another great reaction Mandy(I'm guessing because I haven't finished yet) 🙏🏴✌
Definitely one of! Possibly even _the._
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I think it’s a really overrated sketch. The initial ‘four candles’ joke, (no spoilers!), is one of the best jokes ever contained in a sketch, but the rest of the sketch goes downhill very quickly. Once you realise that he’s asking for different items to what the shopkeeper expects, it’s not as funny, without the initial surprise and amazing twist of four candles/f**k h*****s. The initial joke is all that’s needed, you may as well stop watching there.
@@andrewmay1299 Andrew, My favourite sketch that I remember was the Morecambe and Wise 'The kitchen routine' scene. These two shows were brilliant IMO growing up(due to my grandma taping the them) & watched on weekend. So.........
In my opinion that was top or near! What is up there for you mate? 🙏🍺
@@andrewmay1299 And I suppose those are the most memorable to me, but each his own!
You deffo need to watch the blackberry one 😂
Haven't you heard of a pitch fork? That's how they pick up the bundles of weeds and hay!
It would only have been shot in SD on video so 480 is surely the best that exists.
The shop is called a haberdashery and they sell a bit ov everything. The german comedian Henning Wehn once said "With a name like that you think it would sell something really specific, but no it's just bits and bobs"
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Love watching your reactions to British comedy. A lot of fun to see someone being introduced and enjoying a lot of the humour I grew up with and love. Have a look at Blackadder when you have the chance, or, ever better, Father Ted
Glad you enjoyed Bailey! 🤗
The is the perfect example and a master class in staging. Ronnie C building frustration at Ronnie B.
Alway fun to watch and more so along with your reactions
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2:00 "That's a very big fork!" ha ha hahaha
I also didn't understand the words for the first few items lol. I love the randomness of stock in these small shops. I have a shop sort of like this near my area called "Spots". But nowhere near as vintage as the one in this video :)
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If you see he asks for 2 "O's" and then "P's". So would have been Poo or Poop if he wanted the letter P 😅
I noticed 😂😅🤪
Each man says good night on behalf of the other
There is a good one where R. Barker does the weather forecast, and their invented news items were funny. (I wonder if they were actually good friends, though?)
This is their best sketch. xx
Got any peas? One of the funniest sketches ever 🤣
Please do Two Ronnies 'swear box' you will laugh your arse off.
This sketch is an all time classic that cracks me up every time I watch it, even though I know what is coming next. I do wish that they had gone with the alternative ending. If it wasn't for the fact that the US and UK are two countries divided by a common language, I think you would have enjoyed the sketch a lot more. You should check out the "crossed lines" sketch from The Two Ronnies.
Amps (or amperes) are a measure of current. 13 amp is the rating for the fuse found in a standard of british plugs (I guess americans don't have fused plugs so don't encounter the word commonly or something).
The store is an old-style general store. they sold a wide variety of things, kind of like a supermarket before the days of mass commercialization.
A billhook is a type of agricultural knife.
My dad loved the old Hardware shops,he knew my mum would go to another shop and leave him to it, as I got older I realized he just wanted some peace and quiet 😂
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Love your reaction videos to UK comedy. You are so lovely and you laugh is so infectious 😍
A garden fork
Before you watch the blackberry sketch it was done after Ronnie Barker (the bigger one.) died. Also one of the mobile phone service providers in the UK. Was called Orange. Just a heads up.
Good to know, thank you 🤗
This is the benchmark of reaction channels.